Photo for The Union by John Hart
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival be held this weekend starting Thursday, Nevada City and Grass Valley. People sitting up the old Alpha building on Broad Street, Wednesday afternoon that will be the headquarters of the event. Lori Van Laanen putting up a Yuba River water shed map in the headquarters.

Photo for The Union by John Hart
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival be held this weekend starting Thursday, Nevada City and Grass Valley. People sitting up the old Alpha building on Broad Street, Wednesday afternoon that will be the headquarters of the event. Mia Nash and Seph Schwinn of the RAFTT group setting art displays.

The festival is also of particular importance to the South Yuba River Citizen’s League, which puts on the event. SYRCL is also celebrating its 30th year since its founding.

“This is a celebration or our commitment to protecting the Yuba,” said Executive Director Caleb Dardick. “To keep a grassroots community engaged for a decade or more, it is important to come together and celebrate your wins and renew energy.”

In 1999, SYRCL successfully garnered Wild and Scenic designation for the Yuba River, insulating it from further damming and development. The festival draws its name from that victory, Dardick said.

SYRCL puts on the show as its largest fundraiser, which produces about one-third of the organization’s annual funding, Dardick estimated.

With more than 4,000 people descending on its streets, the festival brings a reprieve to post-holiday business slumps in Nevada City. Most area lodging gets packed and many filmmakers stay as guests in people’s homes.

Although the film festival is among Nevada City’s largest events of the year, unlike most of those happenings, SYCRL’s event lasts longer than a weekend, Strawser said. “I already see people here now,” Strawser said Wednesday. “So we get five quality financial days.”